It’s pretty simple: When dealing with a police officer, don’t be a jackass.

But as easy as it seems, behaving like a decent human being appears to be a bridge too far for a seemingly ever-growing number of Americans these days. The infamous pool party in Texas is but the latest example of people being idiots and displaying obnoxious, disrespectful and dangerous behavior toward police. And it’s going to get much worse before it gets any better.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s not occurring in nature. It’s a deliberate and manipulated attitude shift by self-described “social justice warriors” who thrive off the misery they help create.

It’s also being fostered by the media, seeking viewers by manufacturing outrage through bald-faced lies and half-truths.

The latest example is the pool party in McKinney, Texas. Police were called to a private community pool because a social media blast had dozens of kids crashing a pool party. If you don’t live in that community, you don’t get to use the pool without being invited by someone who does. These crashers weren’t, so they were asked to leave. They refused and got rowdy, and that’s when police were called.

Seven minutes of video surfaced of a melee that reportedly lasted upwards of 45 minutes, and the social justice warriors pounced. The media looped an officer subduing a 14-year-old brat who would not obey legitimate orders from police, was mouthing off and fighting when an officer attempted to put cuffs on her.

Two guys, riled up and probably thinking they’d be heroes, approached the officer – who was on his knees and vulnerable – from behind in a fast, aggressive way. The officer stood up quickly, pulled his gun and pointed it at no one. The two guys immediately retreated, the gun was re-holstered, and he returned to subduing the brat.

So what? It’s a non-story, but it fits the narrative, so it’s gotten constant play on TV and in the “social justice” world.

The narrative is the officer was “too aggressive,” should have been nicer and should not have pulled his gun. The media has been non-stop with this, and that’s exactly why it happened.

Teenagers are stupid. They haven’t lived long enough to learn anything, yet they’re cursed, as we all were at that age, with a raging case of “I-know-everything-it is.” One teenager can be reasoned with, but a group of teenagers is a herd of stupidity that makes lemmings look like raging individualists.

In “Men In Black,” Tommy Lee Jones delivers one of my favorite lines of all time. Will Smith asks him why they just don’t tell the world aliens exist and live among us, that people are smart enough to handle the truth. Jones responds, “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals, and you know it.” And it’s true.

The collective “people” can be riled up easily by just about anything. And these “social justice warriors,” – the leaders anyway; not the idiots who swallow their lies and repeat them – know it.

The situation in Texas went exactly as it should have. The unruly kids running around smarting off to police and threatening them eventually were overwhelmed and subdued. Now the kids are being portrayed as victims when they’re really the perps.

The same is happening across the country. In Ferguson, Mo., Michael Brown ripped off a store, threatened its owner, attacked a police officer, tried to take his gun and got killed charging back at him. There is a plaque being placed in the street where he died. He’s not the victim; he’s the perp. Michael Brown should still be alive, but he’s not because of his own actions.

Yet Brown is celebrated as a martyr.

The real problem is parents. It may not be popular to say, but if you’re a parent and you present Michael Brown or these kids in Texas to your kids as anything other than victims of their own actions, you’re setting a horrible example and probably are an awful parent.

The media is going to exploit; they’re desperate for ratings. The social justice set is going to lie; it gets them attention and money. If you, as a parent, don’t counter the perversion of truth by those two groups, if you reinforce it to your kids, you are the problem. Parents are supposed to protect their kids from harm, not just physical but psychological. Embedding an attitude that spawns disrespect for the police puts your kids in harm’s way.

Kids raised with a healthy martyr complex and disrespect for authority will not succeed in life. They’ll be more likely to end up dead or in prison than gainfully employed. They are ultimately responsible for their choices and must face the consequences, but parents are supposed to counteract the negative influences children encounter. Too many aren’t; they’re cultivating them.

If you see your kids giving lip to a police officer, fighting with them or refusing to follow their orders, don’t defend them and lawyer up. Recognize that you have a choice in front of you: quick money in a settlement, of which a third will go to your lawyer, or acknowledging you’re failed as a parent and rededicating yourself to counteracting the mistakes you’ve made in the past. In other words, get serious about teaching your kids right from wrong.